How do you mitigate the inherent risk of a one-person team?

Is there any benefit for a football team to lose gracefully when down big rather than risk a larger blowout by taking more risks to win?

• For instance, a team down by 21 in the 4th quarter with the ball and 4th and 15 at their own 10 yard line would punt the ball away rather than go for the first down.  They have a better shot at winning by going for it but they also risk losing by a greater margin.

• Answer:

  One benefit for a team to lose gracefully would be to lower the chances of injuries, allowing them to be better prepared for later games.  Additionally, in some cases, point differential may come into play in determining who advances to the playoffs.  This is http://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=976.